Video: French President François Hollande at Davos January 23, 2015 In the wake of the three days of terrorist attacks in Paris, President François Hollande's approval rating has risen – but his next challenge will be to keep France's economic growth – currently predicted by the European Commission to stop at an anaemic 0.7 per cent in 2015 – on track in the face of [...]
WATCH LIVE: George Osborne at Davos January 23, 2015 David Cameron might not have made it to Davos this year, but chancellor George Osborne has made it – and following yesterday's decision by the European Central Bank to instigate a quantitative easing programme, he'll have plenty to talk about. What is the UK's position in the new Europe? And how much of a threat [...]
David Cameron outlines legislation for increased Scottish powers – but there’s no mention of haggis in this Burns Night address January 23, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron gave his spin on a Burns Night address last night – but he failed to mention haggis once. To be fair, the speech was more taken up with his plans for the people of Scotland post-referendum, specifically to note the publication of draft legislation detailing new powers for the Holyrood [...]
London mayor Boris Johnson visits British military while on trade visit to Kurdistan region of Iraq January 23, 2015 The mayor of London has popped up in the Kurdistan region of Iraq to promote trade links between the region and the UK, highlighting the "commercial opportunities and infrastructure development". Boris Johnson was invited over by the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government Nechirvan Barzani and will meet business leaders in the hope [...]
David Cameron facing Tory backlash over plain cigarette packs January 22, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron is facing a bruising from his own party over proposals to have cigarettes sold in plain, unbranded, packaging, with a senior Tory MP telling Morning Wire that “half the parliamentary party” could be against it. Several Conservative backbenchers were fuming at the proposals yesterday, put forward in a surprise announcement by [...]
ECB’s €1tn QE plan: Economists surprised, but leaders warn on reforms January 22, 2015 European politicians have been warned not to ease off on economic reforms now that billions of euros worth of quantitative easing (QE) has been launched, while economists have been surprised by its scope. “Regardless of what the ECB [European Central Bank] does,” Angela Merkel said in Davos yesterday, “it should not obscure the fact that [...]
ECB’s €1tn QE plan: Greek parties trade pre-election blows ahead of Sunday crunch time January 22, 2015 Political tensions simmered in Greece yesterday as the two main rival parties fretted over the country’s inclusion in Europe’s newly launched quantitative easing (QE) ahead of Sunday’s election. The European Central Bank (ECB) has said that countries who do not have investment grade bonds must stick to bailout conditions to benefit from its bond buying. [...]
London FinTech heads for NYC with Boris Johnson trade mission January 22, 2015 A delegation of London’s financial technology startups are joining Mayor Boris Johnson on a trade mission to New York next month. Digital Shadows, a cybersecurity firm whose clients include the Bank of England, and Azimo, a money transfer business which raised $10m (£6.6m) in funding last March, will go on the trip to showcase London’s [...]
ECB bond-buying programme sends indices soaring up – London Report January 22, 2015 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank’s €1.14 trillion bond-buying programme sent UK shares to their highest level for four months yesterday. The FTSE 100 finished up 68.59 points, or 1.02 per cent, at 6,796.63, its highest since 19 September last year. Among the risers Royal Mail gained 3.55 per cent to 445.80p after a good Christmas performance [...]
The Eurozone desperately needed Mario Draghi’s QE stimulus – but the euro isn’t safe yet January 22, 2015 European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi has done what many in the markets had hoped for, and announced a massive package of QE of over €1 trillion – promising more if need be. This is much bigger than had generally been expected, indicating Draghi’s determination to deal decisively with the Eurozone’s deflation problem. If [...]